Wheeler Pleased to See Bike Share Effort for College Students Expanding

on
Thursday, June 18, 2015

State Representative Barbara Wheeler (R-Crystal Lake) has said she is glad to see the Divvy bicycle sharing program expanding for college students in Chicago. Last year, Wheeler authored a resolution to explore the creation/expansion of bike sharing programs on college campuses.

“The cost of college is so costly these days that simple cost saving things can be very valuable to students,” said Wheeler. “I’m glad to see bike sharing expanding to more and more colleges in Chicago, and hope more Illinois universities will follow suit.”

Last fall, students at DePaul University, Northwestern University, Columbia College, City Colleges of Chicago, Rush University Medical Center and the University of Illinois at Chicago were offered the opportunity to join Chicago’s Divvy program at a 25% reduced rate. More colleges and universities in Chicago have since joined the program, which has expanded four-fold since its creation. Wheeler is hopeful more institutions across the state will implement this simple cost saving method on their campuses as well.
Wheeler’s resolution that passed last spring, HR1024, specifically encouraged public universities to look into whether a bicycle sharing program would be financially feasible, environmentally friendly, and convenient for students. Given the expansion of the Divvy program across Chicago’s colleges and universities, bike sharing seems to be having the positive impact of convenience and cost savings many had predicted it would.